Dan Darragh
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Position: | 1968 / Round: 13 / Pick: 336 | ||||||||||||
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Player stats at PFR |
Daniel Meyer Darragh (born November 28, 1946) is a former
College career
Darragh played college football for William & Mary under head coach Marv Levy (years later, Levy would coach the Buffalo Bills). In 1965, Darragh plated in 10 games for William & Mary, passing for 8 touchdown passes, 896 yards and 7 interceptions, and two rushing touchdowns. The Tribe finished with a 6-4 record overall, 5-1 in the Southern Conference. The next season, the Tribe's record slip to 5-4-1 overall, 4-1-1 in conference. The Tribe became more a pass first offense, with Darragh throwing the ball for 1,346 yards, first time he'd eclipsed the 1,000-yard passing mark in his career. In Darragh's senior season, William & Mary continued to struggle, but on November 11th, 1967, they played West Virginia to a 16-16 tie, handing the Mountaineers the only blemish on their conference record.[1]
Pro career
In 1968, the Bills selected Darragh in the 13th round of the NFL draft. The Bills starter the previous season,
Jack Kemp returned for the 1969 season, and Darragh was exiled to the role of back-up. Under new head coach John Rauch, the Bills improved to 4-10. Darragh played in three games, starting in two of them as the season drew to a close. The Bills lost both of Darragh's starts that season, first to the Kansas City Chiefs and then to the Jets. Darragh suffered a season ending separated right shoulder against the Jets. In the 1970 draft, the Bills selected Dennis Shaw out of San Diego State as their quarterback of the future. Jack Kemp had since decided to retire from pro football. Darragh also had more competition for the quarterback position, James Harris, who was one of the first African American quarterbacks to play in the modern era. While Shaw was assigned to hold a clipboard for the first few weeks as Darragh started. The Bills lost both games, to the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams respectively. His last appearance in an NFL game would occur on October 11, 1970, appearing in a relief role in the Bills 23-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Darragh was released by the Bills at the end of training camp in 1971, ending his NFL career. Darragh finished with a 1-10 record as a starting quarterback.
In 1992, William & Mary inducted Darragh into the school's Hall of Fame.[3]